Anti-Capitalist Convergence - New York City
Some might find it strange that the ACC is not making any demands of the politicians, bankers and CEOs gathering for the World Economic Forum in New York.
What, precisely, are we protesting, then?
In fact, we not 'protesting' at all. The Anti-Capitalist Convergence is a gathering of collectives, affinity groups, and individuals inspired by the principle of direct action. Direct action means that if there are problems in the world, one does not go appealing to the authorities to solve them for us, one does not go begging - or even demanding - that those in power stop doing things that create those problems. Because those who believe in direct action do not recognize that authority, and wish to put an end to that power. Direct action means taking action for ourselves, either to create our own solutions - acting as if that power does not exist - or, if we must confront our rulers, by putting our bodies on the line to stop them from doing what they're doing. It is, at the same time, a form of action and a form of education, because we are acting in the world, but by doing so, we are also showing people everywhere that there is an alternative to passive acquiescence - that it is possible for communities to take power over their own lives, to intervene in history, and to do it in a form which itself provides a vision of the kind of world in which we would really like to live.
Therefore we are not even saying "we demand the right to live in freedom and dignity", because freedom and dignity is not something our rulers can ever grant us. It is their very existence, as rulers, that makes freedom and dignity impossible.
All this is only possible if we refuse to live in fear. As anarchists, we recognize that the power of our rulers can only be maintained by terror; both governments and terrorists are ultimately playing the same game: the manipulation of ordinary people's sense of fear and insecurity for political gain. We, on the other hand, stand in absolute rejection of any politics of terror. That is why we are taking action now, in New York City, despite the obvious risks. The WEF's choice to relocate to Manhattan is a blatant example of just this sort of cynicical exploitation of grief, fear, and terror - they know they are bringing disruption and probably violence into the lives of an already frightened and traumatized population, but they hope to exploit those emotions to make it easier for them to crush us. By standing up and taking action anyway, despite all the police and military force and manipulation of the press and public opinion we know are being marshalled against us, we are sending a message to the world that it is not necessary to be ruled by fear: we refuse to bow down to terror, just as we refuse to terrorize anyone else.
What, then, do we want?
We are anarchists because we believe it would be possible to have a society without rulers; one based on principles of self-organization, voluntary association, and mutual aid. We believe that capitalism cannot be reformed, and no system built on marshalling the powers of greed and fear to drive people to organize their lives around the endless production and accumulation of commodities, no society which measures its success by the total amount of merchandise it manages produce, could ever lead to human happiness - in fact, could ever lead to anything other than a world in which even the most successful are mired in loneliness and alienation and the vast majority of our fellow humans, destroyed by terror and despair. We believe it is possible, instead, for communities and individuals to take control over their own lives, and create a new world in which the desire for the endless maximization of profit could be replaced by a desire for the full self-realization of human beings: a world in which everyone can have the security of knowing their basic needs will be met, and therefore will be free to contribute to society as they see fit, in sustainable harmony with the earth and natural world; a world which would involve pleasures, challenges, and forms of joy and fulfilment that at present we could hardly imagine.
And if that it is possible - (and can anyone say with certainty that it is not?) - could there be anything more important than working to bring that world in to being?
Therefore we ask nothing more of the junketeers in the Waldorf than we would of anyone else. As individuals, they are of course invited to join us in the pursuit of a better world; if they are willing to abandoning their power and privilege we will be happy to treat them as equals.
Or, if they are not willing to do that yet, we can, perhaps, provide one other suggestion. If those who have gathered to celebrate their wealth and power at the Waldorf would really like to make a "gesture of solidarity" with New Yorkers, as they claim, we can suggest one thing they might do. These are after all the very same people who, in their roles as the stockholders and directors in financial institutions, are collecting vast amounts of money from New Yorkers each month in the form of mortgage payments, credit card bills, car payments, student loans... There's almost nobody here in the city who isn't forking over significant amounts of money to someone at the World Economic Forum every month. If they want to help us, we suggest that, rather than employing us as bellhops, chauffeurs, and caterers, and throwing us some quarters in tips, they stop extracting this money from us. That's why we are calling not only for the cancellation of international debt, which literally takes food out of the mouths of hungry children, but personal debt as well. If you claim you want to help, stop taking our money! Otherwise, stop pretending you are making a "gesture of solidarity."
http://www.accnyc.org/issues_wefdemands.html